The Year of the Snake!

As the Lunar New Year begins, billions of humans are celebrating the year of the snake. But, if you ask your friends and family members, chances are they might shiver and declare their disgust and sometimes hatred of snakes. It is important to remember that most snakes are not venomous. And that snakes do not seek out humans preferring to coexist from a distance just like you might prefer to keep your distance from them. Most snakes will bite only in self-defense so don’t mess with them and they won’t mess with you. Most humans in fact, do not interact or even see a living snake in their day to day lives so why the fear and loathing of snakes?

If you are afraid of snakes, don’t be ashamed, you might not be able to help it due to your evolutionary history. Humans that learned quickly to respect and keep their distance from snakes were more likely to survive and pass on their genes. Anthropologists think survival skills to notice snakes in the wild may have led early primates to develop better vision and larger brains. Today however, most humans do not need to be on full alert and fearful of snakes to make it through their day. So as we start 2013, the Year of the Snake, let’s find at least 3 reasons to love and celebrate snakes.

Welcome to The Tiniest Tiger Community

Hi, I'm Joanne and I love all cats. With a Global Field Master of Zoology degree focused on big cat conservation, I like to learn and talk about big cats too. I share my habitat with Paul and we were adopted by our cats Annie, Eddie and Mercy. The Tiniest Tiger has a fierce following of cat lovers and we'd love it, if you'd join us.